


My Roommate's Brother

by LI0NH34RT



Series: School/College AU [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: College AU, M/M, Thiam, college student!Liam, lawyer!Theo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26580109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LI0NH34RT/pseuds/LI0NH34RT
Summary: Inspired by an "Overheard" conversation.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: School/College AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046062
Comments: 16
Kudos: 90





	My Roommate's Brother

Liam stares at the full bags of groceries on their kitchen table. There is even green stuff poking out of one of them so it's _real food_!

  
It is the end of the month and neither Corey's nor his own pay check came in yet so they have been surviving off of noodles and ketchup for the last two days.

  
“Thank you, Theo", he says and the man who brought the bags in turns around and smiles.  
“Its no problem, really Li”, he ruffles through Liam's already tousled hair on his way past him.   
Immediately Liam forgets whatever question about the unusual treat is sitting on the tip of his tongue because seriously, Theo should not be allowed to smile like that, it makes him even prettier than normally (which is already an unfairly high score on the ‘hotness scale of hot guys". Liam invented it himself. And Theo is certainly on top of that scale.) 

  
Theo Raeken, Corey's older brother.

  
Liam first met him when Corey moved in as replacement for his previous roommate, Brett. Because Theo is not only older than Corey but also apparently strong enough to carry a two-seater couch up three stories almost on his own (he had to, neither Corey nor Liam were a big help with that task). After the move-in Theo periodically pops up at least once a week, helping with various tasks and bringing Corey stuff from home.

  
At first Corey suspected that his mum wasn’t trusting him to live alone and sent his brother to check up on him.   
Mrs. Raeken-Bryant denied everything and Theo kept showing up so they eventually got used to it. Having him around is actually quite useful because Theo keeps fixing broken sinks and door angles, sharing knowledge on how to remove stains from carpets and, in Liam's opinion, he also is fun to be around (and easy on the eyes on top of that).  
Buying them groceries though, that is a new thing, Liam muses while starting to unpack everything, _hm... weird..._

It has him thinking so much that he is uncharacteristically quiet the next morning, while Mason and him are walking to their first class together.

“Okay, I feel like I’ve been patient enough. What is up with you that has you so quiet?”, Mason breaks after not even fifteen minutes so Liam isn't sure he would call this particularly patient but the issue he is sitting on nearly burns his tongue so instead of teasing his best friend he blurts it out.

“I think my roommate’s older brother is like, hitting on me.”  
Saying it out loud sounds ridiculous but after a whole night of thinking about it, this is the only thing that makes sense.

  
“Corey's brother? Really?”

“Yeah”, Liam is feeling his face grow hot, “I mean, he's been helping us out with rent and stuff. And he wants to hang out. Like when Corey isn’t even home, he will just come in and start cooking and talking to me. Oh! And that one time last semester he took Corey to buy his books and I tagged along because I needed books too and somehow Theo ended up paying for my books as well? I didn’t let him pay for all of them because I felt weird but then he kinda bought us dinner after?”

Mason stays quiet for a moment, he has slowed down his walking to think, then he asks: “Is he hot?”

  
Now Liam's face is on fire.  
“Mase!”  
...  
“Yes. Yes, I guess he is hot. In an older hot guy way...”

“Wait", suddenly Mason sounds concerned, “is this a creepy thing? Is he stalking you?”

“No!”, Liam exclaims immediately, feeling the absurd need to defend Theo from Mason's inquisition. “No, he's actually a pretty cool guy, helping us out, paying for Corey's tuition and he's a lawyer, you know, all smart and witty and successful and... he's just a chill guy to be around, you know?”

He walks a few more steps before realizing that Mason has stopped dead in his tracks and is staring at him with his mouth wide open.  
“Oh. My. God. You like him!”

“But, I’m not gay", Liam protests, admittedly sounding only half-convinced even to his own ears.  
“You're gay for him!” Mason throws his arms up, “Dude! You could be dating a lawyer!”

  
In an attempt of shutting his overexcited, now yelling, friend up, Liam grabs his arm and pulls him over to a bench at the edge of the path they are taking from to their building (something tells Liam that they won't make it to their ‘Contemporary vs Middle Aged Cartography’ seminary).  
The wheels in his head start turning while Mason patiently waits.

“Oh my God Mason, I think he's my sugar daddy!”  
Mason's hand collides with his forehead immediately. 

The whole thing has Liam still thinking a few days later. He has gone over it during boring classes, at night in bed and when he is eating. By now it certainly affects his life a lot and so he decides to do something about it.   
He is sitting at their kitchen table, trying to concentrate on an essay while Theo, who stood in front of the door half an hour ago, types away on his laptop right across from him. Reading glasses perched up his nose in an angle that just makes him look so _... urgh!_

“Hey Theo."

  
“Hm?”, the other man barely looks up from his work as he signals that he is listening.   
“Are you like my sugar daddy now?”

  
Several things happen at once.

  
Theo whips head up so fast he uses balance on the stool, tries to grab onto the table for support and ends up sending their coffee pots tumbling to the ground.

  
After the cacophony of noises stops, the kitchen is silent before Theo, still on the ground croaks out an utterly horrified _“What?!”_

  
He scrambles to his feet, dusting of his pants and sitting down again, “Liam, why would you even think that?”

A bit put off by the reaction Liam pushes his bottom lip out. He folds his arms in front of his chest, “oh come on! It's not that irrational! You pay for groceries or even rent sometimes, Corey's tuition – my books? So come on, what do you want?”

“I want nothing.” Theo's face is serious.   
“Liam. I love my brother and since I earn more money than I can spend on my own, why not support my family?”

  
Everything sounds logical and Liam almost gives in but... “and my books? You buying me dinner? And hanging out here even when Corey is not here?”

  
Now it is Theo's turn to get defensive.  
“Maybe I just like your apartment?”

Liam stares at him. His fingers tapping onto the table top impatiently. 

“You want the truth? Fine. Fine, I will tell you. I am crushing on you. Hard. Since the day we helped Corey to move in”, he pauses, sending an almost defeated look towards Liam, “Go ahead, say it. It's weird. I know, but I just can’t help it.”

  
Liam still stays silent.

  
“Have I ever made you uncomfortable?”, now Theo almost sounds scared and that is what rips Liam out of his stupor.

  
“No!”, his voice is loud in the tense atmosphere of the kitchen, “Theo you never did anything to make me feel weird. You are... you are a pretty great guy. So great in fact that I didn’t believe Mason.”

  
“Mason?”

  
“My best friend. He said that it sounds like you were interested in me and then asked if you are hot", Liam chuckles fondly.  
“Oh really?”, Theo's eyes sparkle with amusement, “and? Am I?”

The pesky blush rising through his face is back as Liam nods.   
“Say it", Theo's voice is low but intense and Liam, scraping together all his courage looks up into the older man's storm-grey eyes.

  
“I think you are hot, okay? And nice, and funny and unbelievably selfless and I almost wish you were my brother but not really because then my feelings for you would be even more wrong than they already are – I mean, look at you – what would you want with a college student like me when you could go out and get yourse-"  
He doesn’t finish his sentence because Theo, deciding to have heard enough of this rant leans over the table, grabs his face with both hands and kisses him.

  
Theo. Is. Kissing. Him.

  
By the time Liam's brain catches up, Theo already pulls back again, a small grin playing around his lips.

  
“Oh my God.”  
The grin gets wider, “please, call me Theo.”

  
Liam can't help but laugh.  
“You think you’re so funny, huh?”

  
“Well", Theo shrugs, “you said it yourself just a few minutes ago.”  
Rolling his eyes, Liam decides that he would much rather get kissed again than continue this pointless argument (Theo is right, he is funny, but Liam won't ever tell him that and inflate his ego even more) and so he gets up from his chair to walk over to Theo. 

  
The other man immediately reaches up to circle Liam's waist with his arms, pulling him closer until Liam gives in and just climbs onto Theo's lap.  
They are in the middle of another, very soft and tender (it has Liam swooning not only on the inside) make out session when the chair makes a very concerning crackle; the only warning they get because suddenly the old wood gives out from underneath Theo and they crash onto the tiles.

  
Theo groans a bit, having taken most of the impact but he doesn’t let Liam go as he leans back into the wall and Liam himself snuggles only closer after a quick check up on broken bones.  
“My, aren't you comfy?”, Theo mumbles but the snark is lost by the way he nuzzles his face into Liam's hair.

They are still in this position when Corey comes home half an hour later.  
“What the hell happened here? And why are you cuddling? On the floor?”

Liam looks up, trying to look apologetic but he can’t suppress his smile.  
“Can't I cuddle with my boyfriend? And oh", he quickly adds when Corey's eyes widen at the news, “we need new kitchen chairs. IKEA next Friday?”  
Slowly nodding, Corey turns to leave them alone when Theo calls after him, “Hey Cor!”

  
“Hm?”

  
“Don't worry, I am paying for the chairs. Got promoted to a sugar daddy after all.”  
Liam suffocates his laughter in Theo's neck and Corey flees to his room mumbling something about his eyes and bleach.

  
_Oh yes_ , Liam thinks while running his fingers through Theo's hair, _this is right_.

“Hey Li, as much as I love this, could we move to the couch before my ass falls asleep?“


End file.
